Dryer for wet articles



Jan. 7, 1958 c. w. HAGUE DRYER FOR WET ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 14, 1955 N .Sl

R. hv vv Jan.7,195s @WHAGUE E 2,818,659

' DRYER FOR WET ARTICLES Filed Jan. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l Fig. 4

Unite States- DRYER FOR WET ARTICLES Copeland W. Hague, Warren, Ohio, assignor to '1.he Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application January 14, 195,5, kSerial No. 481,769

Claims. (Cl. S14-139) v The instant invention relates to dryers and more particularly to a light weight portable .dryer which is especially suitable for drying small loads of washed articles.

Itis a prime object of the instant invention to provide a portable dryer which may be operated solely by a stream of warm air, the latter driving the dryer and also circulating through the wet articles to dry the same.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide adryer having .a wire cage tumbler drum for containing the wet articles, and an air driven turbine element for rotating the tumbler, warm air being directed to the turbine for driving it, said air passing through the blades ofthe turbine to circulate through and over the wet articles for drying the same.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide a dryer, which is enclosed within a closed casing, and includes a rotatable tumbler drum having wire cage walls within which the wet articles are contained. The dryer additionally includes an air turbine driven by a warmstream of air, for rotating the drum and tumbling the wet articles therein, the warm stream of air passing over and behind the turbine blades into contact with the wet articles contained within the drum for drying the same.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a dryer for washed articles which is adapted to handle small loads of wet articles and which is simple in construction and operation and economical in cost. It is a feature of the dryer constructed in accordance with this invention that it is operated by a stream of warm air which serves the purpose of both driving a tumbler drum containing the wet articles as well as drying the articles. The warrn air stream required for operation of the novel clothes dryer may most conveniently be supplied by a conventional suction cleaner, preferably of the tank type, the hose provided with the cleaner being utilized to connect the blower end thereof to the dryer air inlet.

Further objects and advantages of the instant invention in a dryer will be apparent to those skilled inthe art upon consideration of the detailed descriptionl of several preferred embodiments of the invention which follows, reference being had to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view in section of the dryer of the instant invention,

Figure 2 is al sectional view of the dryer taken on the line 2-2 in Figure 1, v

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the dryer takenon the line 3--3 in Figure l,

Figure 4 is an elevational view in section of a modied form of the dryer, and

Figure 5 is a sectional View of the turbine in Figure 4 showing a detail thereof.

Referring to Figure l, the dryer of the instant invention is seen ,to be enclosed within a casing 10, preferably formed from sheet metal, and comprising a lower casing section 11 and a complementally formed upper casing section 12 constituting a cover for the dryer. The rim f 2,818,659 Patented Jan. 7, 1958 l ice of the lower casing section 11 is formed with an inwardly offset edge 13 forming a seat for the edge of the cover 12. A pair of handles 14 are ,secured to the cover 12 by rivets or the like at opposite ends thereof for carrying the dryer. Toggle latches 15 of a conventional form are disposed on opposite sides of the lower casing section 11 and engage integral lips 16 formed on the edge of the cover 12 for releasably securing the latter to the lower casing section 11, and thereby providing a closed chamber for the operating elements of the dryer.

. One end wall of the lower casing section 11 is provided with a centrally disposed air inlet 17 within which there is secured in any suitable manner a short conduit 18 provided with an annular latch engaging lip 19 for the reception of a conventional cleaning tool hose 20, such as is .ordinarily provided with a tank or canister suction cleaner. The end of the hose 20 includes a pair of oppositely disposed spring latches 21 which may be engaged behind the latch engaging lip 19 to secure the hose 20 to the dryer for a purpose to be described in detail hereinafter. T he opposite end wall of the lower casing section 11 is formed with an air outlet 22 provided with diffuser louvers.

A U shaped frame 25 is secured to the lower wall of the lower casing section 11 by bolts 26 or the like, and extends longitudinally of the casing 10. The rear leg 27 of U frame 25 rises parallel to the rear wall of the casing 10 and has secured thereto a bearing 28 preferably of the conventional ball type. The other leg 29 of the U frame 25 also rises vertically, spaced rearwardly from the front of the casing 10 and mounts a bearing 30 at the top thereof. The bearings 2S, 311 are alike and constitute front and rear supports for the tumbler drum 31 to rotatably mount the same within the casing 11.

The tumbler drum 31 is cylindrical and is adapted to receive a load of wet articles to be dried. The front wall 32 of the drum 31 is formed with a plurality of large area turbine blades 33 symmetrically disposed around the longitudinal axis of the drum 31. The center portion 34 of the front wall 32 is recessed and has secured thereto a nut 35 as by welding, which provides a means for securing a stud shaft 36 having a ythreaded end portion. The stud shaft 36 is received within the bearing 30 for rotatably supporting the drum 31. The rear wall 37 of the tumbler 31 includes a stud shaft 38 formed with a threaded end portion and secured to the center of the wall 37 by a nut 39. The stud shaft 38 is received within the bearing 28 and rotatably supports the drum 31 at its rear end. The rear wall 37 is provided with a plurality of vent openings 4t) symmetrically disposed around the center of the rear wall 37.

The longitudinally extending cylindrical wall 41 of the drum k31 is formed from a rigid wire mesh material having sufficient strength to support the load of wet articles placed within the drum. An oblong portion of cylindrical wall 41 is cut away to provide an access opening in the drum 31. The oblong opening is surrounded by a llange 4Z secured to the wire mesh material of the wall 41 on the periphery of the opening. An access door 43 closes the oblong opening and comprises a complementally formed frame 44 to which is secured wire mesh material of the same character as is used in forming the cylindrical wall 41, so that the wire cage construction of the tumbler drum 31 is substantially continuous. A pair of hinges 45 mounts the frame 44 on the surrounding flange 42 at one side of the opening in the drum 31. On the opposite side of the door 43, there is provided a sliding latch 46 of any suitable form which engages under a lip 47 integrally formed with the ange 42. The sliding latch 46 secures the door 43 in closed position and permits rotation of the tumbler drum 31 ythrough 360 without danger of any of the wet articles falling out. An annular flange member 48 is secured inside of the wire mesh wall 41 immediately behind the blades 33 of the front wall 32. A wire mesh wall 49 is secured to the flange y48 and provides a barrier between the wet articles in the tumbler drum 31 and the blades 33 of the turbine element, preventing the clothes from obstructing the latter.

At th.e front of the casing 10, leading rearwardly from the air inlet 17, there is provided an air passage 50 for so directing the incoming warm air as to most eciently strike the turbine blades 33 to operate the dryer. The air passage 50 comprises an outer conical wall 51 terminating adjacent the turbine 32 in a partition wall 52, the latter being secured to the leg 29 of the frame 25 by a bolt 53 or like means. The opposite wall 54 of the air p assagelStl is formed by a smaller diameter conical portion which is secured to the upstanding leg 29 by a bolt 55 or the. like. It is seen that Ethere is thus formed an annular air passage 50 leading rearwardly from the air inlet 17 and diverging toward the blades 33 of the turbine 32', to most effectively direct the warm air stream against said blades for rotating the tumbler drum 31.

In operating the dryer of the instant invention, the cover 12 is first removed from the casing 10 providing access to the tumbler drum 31. This exposes ithe door 43 in the tumbler drum 31, and it may be opened by releasing the sliding latch 46 and swinging the door 43 open on -its hinges 45. Should the tumbler drum 31 be so positioned within the casing section 11 that the door 43 is not accessible, the drum 31 may be freely rotated on .its bearing supports 2S, 30 to a position where the door is accessible. A load of wet articles is then placed within the tumbler drum 31, and the door 43 closed and latched shut. The cover 12 is then replaced and secured to the lower casing section 11 by means of the toggle latches 15.

A source of warm air is provided for the air inlet 17 to operate the dryer. This source of warm air may most conveniently take the form of a tank or canister suction cleaner having the blower end thereof connected to the air inlet 17 by means of the usual cleaning tool hose 20 provided with such cleaners. The hose 20 is latched to the conduit 18 in the manner previously described, and the Warm air stream is directed into the diverging air passage 50 which directs it against the blades 33 of the turbine 32. The force of the air stream on |the blades 33 rotates the turbine and the tumbler drum 31 to tumble the articles therewithin. The warm air passes behind the turbine blades 33 to the wire cage wall 49 and over and through the articles being tumbled in the drum 31. The air will circulate through the entire casing by virtue of the fact that the tumbler drum 31 is formed with wire cage walls and includes the vent openings 40 in the rear wall 37. The warm air will pick up the moisture from the wet articles and will exhaust through the port 22. It will be apparent that there is thus created a circulating warm atmosphere within the casing 10 in the presence of which the wet articles are tumbled and dried.

A second embodiment of the instant invention in a dryer is illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, in which those parts identical with the parts of the first embodiment bear the same reference numerals.

The dryer of this embodiment comprises a casing 10 which is substantially the same as the casing in the first embodiment, and comprises a lower casing section 11 rotatably supporting the tumbler drum 31, and a cover section 12 adapted to be releasably secured to the lower casing section 11 on a peripheral seat 13 provided at the rim edge of the section 11. Carrying handles 14 are provided on the cover section 12 for facilitating transporta tion of the dryer, and a pair of toggle latches (not illustrated), disposed one on either side of the casing 10, secure the casing sections together.

In the instant embodiment the rear end of the tumbler drum 31 lis formed in the same manner as illustrated in A- '4 Y Figure l and includes a stud shaft received in bearing 28 which is mounted on an upstanding post 27' secured to the bottom of the lower casing section 11 by a bolt 26' or like means. The wire cage cylindrical wall 41 of the tumbler drum 31 has its forward end secured between a pair of annular flanged elements 65. The front wall 66 of the drum 31 comprises a disc of wire mesh material secured at its periphery between the laterally extending legs of the annular ange members 65. The center of the front wall 66 is cutout and has secured thereto a sheet metal socket 67 within which there is press -tted a bearing 68 formed from any of the known bearing materials. f

A shaft 69 is journaled within the bearing 68 and supports the front end of the tumbler drum 31 for rotation within the casing 10. The opposite end of the shaft 69 has a reduced diameter portion 70 which is received in an upstanding post 71 and is secured thereto by a nut 72 threaded to the outer end of the shaft portion 70. It is to be noted that the shaft 69 is locked to the post 71 by means of spring lock washer 73, and thus does not rotate. A ball thrust bearing 74 of a known form ,is pressed fitted to the shaft 69 with the outer race thereof press tted within a cup 74' secured adjacent the post 71. A collar 75 Yfitted with a bearing 76 in its bore is mounted on the shaft 69 adjacent the ball thrust bearing 74, the latter supporting the thrust of the collar 75. The collar 75 is rotatable on the shaft 69 and has secured thereto, as by staking, a 'sheet metal turbine 77.

The turbine 77 includes a plurality of annularly disposed turbine blades 78 against which a stream of warm air may be directed for driving the turbine to supply power for rotating the tumbler drum 31. An angularly directed air inlet 79 is provided in the cover section 12 and includes a restricted nozzle 80 for increasing the velocity of the incoming air stream. The air inlet 79 and the nozzle 80 are aligned with the turbine blades 78, and so directed that the air stream will laterally strike the turbine blades 78 as illustrated in Figure 5, to most effectively utilize the force of the incoming air stream to drive the turbine 77.

The rear end -of the collar 75 is tapered to form a conical pulley 75' and has secured thereto a sleeve 81, preferably made yof heat resistant rubber. The sleeve 81 and the conical pulley 75 are engaged by a conical pulley 82. The pulley 82 may most conveniently be made of sheet metal and is formed with a central opening within which there is secured a bearing 83. The pulley 82 is mounted on a stud shaft 84 which has a rearwardly extending portion 85 of a square cross-section slidably mounted Within a bushing 86. The bushing 86 is bolted, or secured in like m-anner, to an upstanding post 87 which is bolted to the bottom of the lower casing section 11. A leaf spring 88 is riveted to the post 87, and the free end thereof bears against the rear end of the shaft 84 biasing the shaft 84 and the pulley 82 into driving engagement with the conical pulley 75. Upon rotation of the turbine, the frictional engagement between the sleeve 81 and the pulley 82 drives the latter.

The pulley 82 constitutes an idler between the pulley 75 and a conical pulley 89 ixedly secured to shaft 90 by means of a pin 91, or like means. A ball radial and thrust bearing 92 is mounted adjacent the bottom of the upstanding post 71 within a cup 92 which is secured to the post 71. The front end of the shaft is press fitted in the bearing 92, the latter absorbing the thrust of the shaft 90 as well as permitting rotation thereof. The conical pulley 89 is provided with a heat resistant rubber sleeve 93 for frictionally engaging the pulley 82 and providing a driving engagement therebetween.

The shaft 90 extends rearwardly through an opening 93' in the post 87. The rear end of the shaft 90 is provided with a reduced diameter portion 94 which is journaled in a bearing 95 press tted into the pillow block 96 which is bolted or otherwise secured to the bottom of the lower casing section 11.

A tumbler drive pulley 97, which is also conical, is mounted on the shaft 90 behind the pulley 89. The drive pulley 97 is formed with a keyway and slidably lits the shaft 90, which includes a stud 99 received in the keyway 98 for guiding the pulley 97 on the shaft 90, and preventing rotation of the pulley 97 relative to the shaft 90. The pulley 97 includes a sleeve 100, preferably made of heat resistant rubber material for frictionally engaging the periphery of annular angle elements 65 on the front end of the tumbler drum 31. A spring 101 is interposedbetween the pulleys 89 and 97 to bias the latter into frictional engagement with the annular element 65 on the front end of the tumbler drum for rotation of the latter.

It is thus seen that there is provided a frictional pulley drive between the turbine 77 and the tumbler drum 31 to rotate the latter in drying the wet articles. Conical pulleys are utilized in the drive, and the pulleys are so biased that compensation is had for wear in the driving surfaces, and a constant frictional engagement between the pulleys is always maintained. The idler pulley 82 is biased by the leaf spring 88 into constant frictional engagement with the pulley 75' as well as with the pulley 89. The spring 101 interposed between the pulley 89 and the pulley 97 biases the latter into constant frictional engagement with the end element 65 of the tumbler drum 31 to provide a driving engagement therewith.

The operation of the dryer illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 is substantially the same as that of the dryer constituting the first embodiment of the invention. The wet articles are placed in the tumbler drum in the same manner as described in connection with the first embodiment, and a pressure source of warm air is connected to the air inlet 79. This again may most conveniently be a tank or canister suction cleaner having the cleaning tool hose connected to the blower outlet of the cleaner with the opposite end of the hose latched to the air inlet conduit 18. A restricted nozzle 80 on the air inlet 79 increases the velocity of the air entering the casing 11 so as to most effectively drive the turbine 77 The air is so directed as to laterally strike the turbine blades 78 to drive the turbine, and through the above-described pulley drive system to rotate the tumbler 31 within the casing 10. The warm air will pass behind the turbine blade 78, in the manner illustrated in Figure 5, circulating within the casing and through the tumbler drum 31. Thus, the wet articles within the drum 31 will be tumbled in the presence of a warm air atmosphere, and the latter will serve to remove the moisture from the wet articles with the damp air exhausting through the outlet port 22, the latter being provided with louvers to diffuse the exhaust air.

The instant invention in a dryer has been described in two embodiments thereof. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced in other forms as well and that the described embodiments are subject to modifications, falling within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited except as set forth in the claims which follow.

I claim:

l. A portable accessory adapted to receive warm air from the exhaust of a suction cleaner for drying wet articles comprising, a casing, said casing comprising a lower shell portion and a complementally formed upper cover portion, means for releasably joining said casing portions to form a closed drying chamber through which warm air may be circulated in contact with the wet articles for drying the latter, a perforate drum adapted to contain and tumble the wet articles in the presence of the warm air stream, means for rotatably mounting said drum in said lower casing portion, said drum comprising a wire cage permitting the warm air to circulate through the drum over the articles contained therein, a door in the wire cage providing access to the interior thereof, turbine means on one end of said drum, an air inlet formed in one end of said casing adjacent said turbine means, a fitting detachably connected to said air inlet for conducting warm air from the exhaust of a suction cleaner to said inlet and into said casing and means between said air inlet and said turbine means for leading the warm air into a position to rotate said turbine means and to thereafter pass through said drum.

2. A dryer for wet articles comprising a casing having two sections adapted to be releasably joined one to the other to form a closed drying chamber within which warm air may be circulated in contact with the wet articles for drying the latter, a drum rotatably mounted within said casing adapted to contain and tumble the wet articles in the presence of the warm air stream, said drum comprising a wire cage permitting the air stream to enter the drum in contact with the wet articles contained therein, a door in said drum providing access to the interior thereof, said drum being rotatably mounted on a centrally located axis, one end wall of said drum including turbine driving means, an air inlet in said casing disposed in line with the axis of rotation of the drum and turbine for the admission of the warm air stream, a diverging air conduit leading from the air inlet to adjacent the turbine blades, the air outlet of said passage being disposed in contiguity to the turbine blades to direct the air stream thereagainst to drive the turbine and rotate the drum, said air stream passing behind the turbine blades and into the drum over the tumbled articles to dry the same.

3. A dryer for wet articles as recited in claim 2 in which the casing includes an outlet in a wall furthest removed from the wall containing the air inlet for exhausting the damp air.

4. A dryer for wet articles comprising a closed casing having an air inlet and an air outlet and forming a drying chamber through which warm air may be circulated in contact with wet clothes for drying the latter, a perforate drum adapted to contain and tumble the wet articles in the presence of the warm air stream, means for rotatably supporting said drurn within said casing, an air inlet in said casing for the admission of the warm air stream, a turbine positioned adjacent the air inlet, said turbine including turbine blades disposed in the path of the air stream and a power transmitting pulley connected therewith, said power transmitting pulley being drivingly connected to a drum driving pulley, said drum driving pulley frictionally engaging the drum for rotating the latter, said air stream being directed to strike the turbine blades for driving the turbine and transmitting power to the drum to tumble the articles contained therein, the warm air passing over and behind the turbine blades and into the drum for drying the articles contained therein.

5. A dryer for wet articlesA as recited in claim 4 in which the drum includes wire cage walls, whereby the warm air may pass through the drum in contact with the Wet articles contained therein.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,075,476 Hutchins Oct. 14, 1913 1,765,628 Staley June 24, 1930 2,434,476 Wales Jan. 13, 1948 2,714,767 Frederick et al. Aug. 9, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,558 Great Britain A. D. 1903 458,318 France Aug. 4, 1913 

